


Promises

by leen_go (cagedchaos)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-03
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2018-10-25 09:31:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10761480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cagedchaos/pseuds/leen_go
Summary: Kris has finally acknowledged that he has a drinking problem, and it's up to Yixing to pick up the pieces and try to put Kris Wu back together.





	Promises

Kris had problems with his job. He had problems with his boss, and he had problems with his fellow coworkers.

Actually, Kris had problems with his life, in general. He hated his job, but he also had trouble with everything else outside of his job. He hadn’t managed to hold down a steady relationship since Chanyeol had left him for Baekhyun, and he hadn’t spoken to his divorced parents in over five years. The only good thing Kris had going for him was his roommate, Zhang Yixing, who, despite always being a nag, had stuck by Kris, even through the worst.

Kris never used to hate the world as he did now. In fact, he had been quite the opposite. He and Chanyeol would go on trips around the world, just taking in the sights. Kris would point out landmarks, and Chanyeol would excitedly take pictures so that he could go home and paint the landscapes across their living room walls.

Kris used to enjoy hiking in the country.

Kris used to participate in charity events, helping to raise money for those less fortunate than himself.

Kris used to hang out at bars with the guys, watching the basketball game as they drank a couple of beers.

Except for Kris, the couple of beers turned into a handful of beers, and then a dozen, and then Kris no longer remembered the last time he’d gone without alcohol in his system.

Kris stopped going to hikes.

He stopped watching basketball.

He stopped caring about orphans.

And he stopped hanging out with Chanyeol.

It took almost two years for Kris to finally acknowledge that he might have a drinking problem. It had been after a night at the bar and Kris had woken up to a searing pain in his head combined with a black eye and a broken wrist he’d received in a drunken fight the night before that he could not remember. It was the first time he tried to stop drinking. He hadn’t anticipated the severe headaches and he certainly hadn’t anticipated the cravings. He only lasted about a day before he gave in.

Kris had lost track of how many times he’d told himself that this would be his last drink ever, only to go back on his word.

Even after Kris had stopped hanging out with the guys, Zhang Yixing was the only one who still kept tabs on him, calling him every so often just to see if Kris wanted to hang out. At first Kris felt guilty, always blowing off his offers, but as the months drew on, he stopped caring about that too, and only found Yixing annoying. Kris yelled at him on the phone once, swearing and calling Yixing a bastard, but the following week, Yixing still called, asking if Kris wanted to hang out.

So Zhang Yixing was the one Kris looked up when he found himself waking up in a dumpster behind an old building one morning, in nothing but his boxers and a jacket he was pretty sure wasn’t his because he wasn’t a girl. He showed up at Yixing’s door without calling him first and Yixing welcomed him inside his apartment, without asking any questions.

“Xing-ah. I need your help.”

And just like that, Kris started living with Yixing.

At first, Kris regretted his decision. Kris had dropped out of university and was living off the allowance that both his parents sent him, but Yixing insisted that he get a job. Kris protested, “I don’t need a fucking job. I just need you to make sure I don’t drink again.”

“Yeah, well, you’re going to have to start paying rent if you’re going to keep living here, and I’m pretty sure your parents will remember one day that you’re a grown man and stop paying your way through life.”

Kris scowled but didn’t retort because he didn’t want to admit that Yixing was right.

So Kris got a part time job working behind the scenes at a publishing factory. It wasn’t his fault he lost that job because he ‘didn’t work well in a team’. That was _clearly_ Yixing’s fault.

Then Yixing refused to let Kris have even a sip of vodka when he was experiencing the worst headache so far _._ “Just a little, Yixing. Just to take the edge off.”

“No,” Yixing had replied as he poured the clear contents of the bottle he’d found hidden in Kris’ sock drawer when he came home from work one day.

“I hate you.”

“Good,” Yixing had laughed as he tossed the now-empty bottle into the recycling. “If you know how to hate, then you’ll be capable of other feelings other than just ‘I need to have a drink, _now_.’”

So Kris didn’t have a drink that evening.

Instead, he took two painkillers and cursed through the night when they didn’t help. “Fuck, Yixing, I don’t care if my liver breaks down, because it’ll probably be after my stomach finishes eating itself anyway. Just give me a goddamned drink.”

Yixing said no again, so Kris went downstairs to the bar, and ordered a gin and tonic. Only to have Yixing steal it from under his nose and down the drink.

“God, you’re following me now?” Kris cursed, slapping a ten on the counter before slipping out the door with his sunglasses on, even if the sun had already set.

“Am I really that obvious?” Yixing asked sarcasticly, falling into step beside Kris with his hands in his pocket.

“Fuck you, Zhang Yixing.”

“And fuck you too, Kris Wu,” Yixing countered with a wide grin.

He’d never admit it, but Kris was grateful for that smile and he was thankful that Yixing had stopped him from drinking that gin and tonic. He was just too in pain to acknowledge it.

It wasn’t much later that the intense nausea started, and Yixing was there with a soothing hand running up and down Kris’ back, as he hunched over the toilet losing the morning’s breakfast. Yixing had started to work from home, just to keep an eye on Kris. It only made Kris feel worse that Yixing seemed to be putting his life on hold just so Kris could get back on his feet again. He wondered what he did in his previous life to have deserved such a caring friend like Yixing. He strengthened the promise to himself again that he would never have another drink.

…

Kris woke up one morning from another one of his nightmares with beads of lining his hair line and Chanyeol peering down at him. Kris couldn’t quite remember how he’d ended up in Yixing’s bed; he’d probably crashed there last night after another round of throwing up – this time it was dinner he’d lost – since Yixing’s bedroom was closer to the bathroom than his was.

“How are you holding up today, Kris?” Chanyeol asked, worry stitching his eyebrows together.

Kris had to bite his lip from saying what was on his mind. It was embarrassing enough that Yixing had called Chanyeol and Kris didn’t need to make it worse by telling his ex-boyfriend that he missed him. He frowned instead and curled further under Yixing’s covers, willing himself to stop shaking to no avail. Chanyeol reached his hand to Kris’ forehead, and Kris closed his eyes, appreciating the brief warmth that the hand provided.

“Do you want some water?”

Kris shook his head and grabbed Chanyeol’s hand as it left his forehead. “Just stay with me a while, please, Chanyeol?”

“Kris…”

Kris could hear the hesitation in Chanyeol’s wavering voice and Kris couldn’t help but feel jealous of Baekhyun. He tightened his grip around Chanyeol’s grip and pulled him down towards him, leaning upwards on his other arm to press his lips against Chanyeol’s. When he got no response, Kris pulled away again and loosened his grip. “I’m sorry… I just… I… alone… miss you… Nevermind. I’m just sorry.” Kris wrapped himself in Yixing’s blankets again and turned to face the wall.

“You’re not alone, Kris. _I’m_ here.”

Kris felt the edge of the bed sink under the added weight as Chanyeol sat down on the bed. Kris turned towards Chanyeol again, who seemed to have dyed his hair a darker shade than he last remembered. “Then stay with me. Just for tonight.”

Chanyeol sighed and hesitated a moment before lying down next to Kris with the comforter between them. Maybe it was the withdrawal talking, but Chanyeol seemed smaller than the last time Kris had laid next to him. Then again, it’d been over a year since then, and so much had changed. Chanyeol leaned on one arm while the opposite hand reached out and tucked the hair out of Kris’ eyes, “Try to get some sleep, Kris.”

Kris woke up just before daybreak that night to the image of Yixing sleeping with his arm curled under his head and he realised Chanyeol hadn’t really come to visit him. It had been Yixing who had comforted him last night. It was always Yixing.

“Thank you.”

…

Kris found himself alone in the apartment one day, with Yixing having gone out for groceries. Kris was fully aware that he’d promised Yixing that he wouldn’t go looking for alcohol again, but there was an annoying buzzing in his right ear that he was sure would go away if he could just have a sip of whiskey, or cough syrup, or maybe even just some mouthwash. But Yixing had been too thorough when he’d gone through the entire place, discarding anything that might even have a hint of alcohol, even the chewing gum and throat lozenges with menthol.

“Of all the fucking times for Yixing to actually be neat,” Kris grumbled as he rummaged through the cabinets, the buzzing in his ear increasing in volume at an alarming rate. Maybe if he cut his ear off, the annoying sound would go away.

So Kris set about finding a sharp knife instead. He closed the cupboard door in the bathroom and headed towards the drawer in the kitchen where he knew Yixing stored the kitchen knives, grabbing the first one his fingers touched.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Kris! What the hell are you doing?!” Yixing had screamed when he’d opened the door to find Kris with a sharp knife in his hand, raised to his ear.

Kris felt Yixing wrestle the knife handle from his grip and he resisted, “I just need to make it stop!”

“Make _what_ stop?!” Yixing yelled once Kris finally unwillingly relinquished the blade.

“That fucking ringing in my ear, Yixing!” It had gotten louder and pressing his finger into his ear didn’t help in the least. “Make it stop, Yixing. _Make the ringing stop!_ ” It was getting too bright and everything was getting too big and spinning too fast. Kris dropped to the ground and shuffled backwards into the corner by the sink, bringing his knees to his chest, tucking his head between them as he squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands. “ _Make it go away, Yixing,_ ” he pleaded with tears streaming down his face.

Kris felt arms wrap around his body and a shirt against his face as Yixing pulled him into a tight hug. “Shh… it’s going to be okay.”

“No, it won’t,” Kris wailed, “It's only gotten worse since I moved in with you. I don’t care anymore, just let me have a drink. I don’t care if I die. At least it’ll stop _hurting_ so much.”

Kris felt Yixing’s Adam’s apple bob up and down against the top of his head as he swallowed, “Things’ll get better soon. I promise.”

“I don’t believe you,” Kris shot back angrily in between hiccups, “Chanyeol promised that he’d never leave me. Mom and dad promised to take each other in sickness and in health until death do them part. Promises don’t mean jack to me.”

Kris felt Yixing’s hold around him tighten as a hand started to stroke lightly as his head. “I promise to keep my promise, Kris,” he whispered into Kris’ hair.

Kris still didn’t believe him, but when he dared to open his eyes again, the kitchen was no longer spinning and when he took his hands away from his ears, the ringing had stopped. He didn’t tell Yixing, though, because he didn’t want Yixing to stop holding him.

…

It was a few months before Yixing suggested that Kris leave the apartment for some fresh air. “Just a short walk in the park, maybe grab some lunch.”

Kris swallowed hard. He hadn’t planned on never stepping foot outside Yixing’s apartment, but now that it had happened, Kris wasn’t keen on breaking that practice. But if it was for Yixing, he was willing to give it a try. Kris owed him at least that after everything Yixing had done for him. “Okay,” he answered hesitantly, “But just like five minutes, okay?”

Yixing smiled widely as he wrapped a scarf around his neck and tossed a similar one at Kris, “And we’ll come straight back up if you need to, okay?”

Kris swallowed nervously again as Yixing unlocked and opened the front door.  “Maybe we should try tomorrow.”

Yixing stepped outside into the hallway and stopped, waiting for Kris to join him. When he made no move, Yixing held out his hand, “Come on, Kris. I’m not standing here all day,” he teased.

Kris made a face and was tempted to crawl under his blankets again but the earnest and encouraging smile from Yixing stopped him. He chewed on his bottom lip and took a step forward, ignoring Yixing’s offer, “I’m not a kid, you don’t need to hold my hand.”

Yixing laughed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket after he locked the door again, “No turning back now, Kris.”

Kris glowered at Yixing again, “Just shut up, Yixing. Are we going or what?”

While Kris had been cooped up in Yixing’s apartment, the seasons had changed and he had forgotten how cold winter could be. If Yixing hadn’t made him wear that scarf, Kris would probably have turned into an icicle already. Instead of complaining, because he didn’t want Yixing to worry more than he already did, he shoved his hands as far into his pockets as they could go and walked closer to Yixing so he could share his seemingly limitless warmth. “When the hell did it get so damn cold out?!” He growled, as his breath crystallized into a white cloud in front of his face. “I thought it was global fucking warming, not global freezing.”

Yixing only shook his head at Kris with a smirk on his face. “Were you always this whiny, Kris?”

Kris glared at his roommate as they stopped at a red light. “Shut up, Yixing. It’s _your_ fault.”

“How’s that now?”

“You’re the one who wanted me to go outside for an idiotic walk in the park.”

“Well you hadn’t gotten fresh air in god knows how long, and you’re making my apartment funny-smelling.”

Kris didn’t retort immediately because the only thing that he could come up with was that _that_ was his own fault, for growing dependent on the drink. Yixing was probably sick of Kris taking up all his space in the apartment but he was just too nice to say so. Yixing’s gloved hand reached up to rest on Kris’ shoulder, comforting him without saying a word because fucking Yixing was a fucking psychic, and he always knew what to do. _Be strong for Yixing_ , Kris thought to himself. Kris sighed lightly and pulled the corners of his mouth upwards into a smile again, “Maybe if you did the laundry more often, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Yixing scoffed as he removed his hand from Kris’ shoulder, “Or, you know, you could do your own damn laundry.”

“I could, but you’d just get so bored without anything to do.”

Yixing punched Kris just as the light turned green, and Kris looked both ways anyway, just to be sure. He was about to step off the curb when a familiar voice that wasn’t Yixing’s called out.

“Zhang Yixing!” It was Luhan. “And… Kris? Is that you?” Luhan jogged a couple steps to join the pair, his cheeks rosy from the cold.

Kris didn’t give an answer and opted instead to ball his fingers into a nervous fist in his pocket. He hadn’t seen Luhan in over half a year, and couldn’t remember how they’d gotten along, given that most of the time, Kris had been drunk. He clenched his jaw and shot Yixing a nervous glance, but Yixing wasn’t looking at him.

“Hey, Luhan, what are you doing around here?” Yixing asked in a friendly tone, and Kris noted that he hadn’t answered Luhan’s question either. He also noticed that Yixing had stepped sideways with half of his body in front of Kris, separating him and Luhan, as if to shield Kris.

“Ah, just got back from kicking some ball with the guys.,” Luhan answered easily before looking up at Kris, “How’re you feeling, Kris?” he asked with a tone that didn’t sit well with Kris; he thought there was too much concern laced in the words, and maybe pity that he didn’t want.

Kris could practically see Yixing tense up as he turned to look up at Kris too. “Uhm, better?” Kris tried.

“Yeah? Did you guys want to grab some coffee or something?”

“Actually, Kris and I were on our way to the –” Yixing started explaining, before Kris stopped him with a hand around his elbow. Kris knew Yixing was just trying to cover for him, but he didn’t like feeling like a burden to Yixing.

“Coffee sounds good,” Kris said slowly before putting his hand back in his pocket.

Luhan’s face lit up, “Great! I know a place just down the street from here,” he announced before leading the way in the opposite direction of Kris and Yixing’s original destination.

When Kris turned to follow, Yixing grabbed his arm and held him back, getting on his tip-toes to whisper to Kris, “You sure you’re okay with this? We can still bail out now if you want.”

No, Kris was not really ‘okay’ with this, but he didn’t like that Yixing had to feel anxious on his behalf, “It was bound to happen sooner or later, Yixing.”

“Yeah, but not during your first trip outdoors in months,” Yixing followed Luhan, falling in step beside Kris. “Just remember I’m here for you, okay?”

Kris grinned despite the awkward situation he was willingly about to step into, “Aren’t you always? Like a freakin’ stalker that just won’t go away, you are.” Yixing nudged him hard in the side for the comment, but Kris continued to grin anyway.

…

“So, what’ve you been doing lately, Kris?” Luhan asked from across the table in their booth once they’d ordered and received their drinks.

Kris sipped from his black coffee to give himself time to figure out an appropriate answer. His left hand gripped his jeans tightly, balling the fabric in his fist as he contemplated what to say. Despite Luhan’s interested tone, Kris doubted that he wanted to hear about Kris’ sleepless nights filled with nightmares, or about the approximately twenty times he’d lost his lunch over the toilet.

Kris felt something warm touch his skin and looked down to see that Yixing had his hand over his own, giving him a quick squeeze for reassurance. Kris looked up to find that Yixing was playing with the edge of the table absentmindedly with his other hand, looking like he wasn’t even paying attention to the conversation Luhan was trying to have with Kris.

“Uh, just stuff, I guess,” Kris answered vaguely, “Trying to figure out my life and shit like that.”

“How’s that working out for ya?”

Kris shrugged, “Tried getting a job. Turns out I wasn’t really good at it,” He laughed, remembering the reaction he’d received from Yixing when he found out that Kris had been fired. He made a note to try again soon.

A silence fell between the trio that lasted almost a complete minute before Luhan spoke up again, “The guys miss you, Kris,” he paused as if to consider whether he should continue the thought, “Especially Chanyeol. He and Baekhyun kind of broke up.”

Kris felt Yixing tense up beside him, pulling his hand back to himself, and Kris couldn’t help but think back to that night when he’d hallucinated that Yixing was Chanyeol. He loosened the grip he’d had on his pants and reached over to grab Yixing’s hand, hiding his smile behind his coffee cup when Yixing nearly choked on his iced tea at the motion. “Yeah, we should hang out sometime,” Kris responded mechanically without bothering to acknowledge the second half of the information that Luhan had volunteered.

Kris maneuvered his wrist under the table so he could hold snake his fingers between Yixing’s while his free hand picked up his napkin to wipe the slight dribble Yixing had made when he was startled by Kris’ actions. Yixing glowered at him and grabbed the napkin roughly out of Kris’ hand so he could wipe his mouth himself. The corners of Kris’ mouth twitched upwards when he noticed Yixing’s ears reddening as he avoided making eye contact with Kris when he returned Kris’ light squeeze of his hand.

As with everything else, Yixing had been right about Kris needing to get out of the apartment today; things were starting to look almost okay again, and Kris was pretty sure it had nothing to do with Chanyeol breaking up with Baekhyun, and everything to do with sitting next to Yixing with their hands intertwined as they drank coffee with an old friend.

Just like Yixing had promised, things were going to get better.


End file.
